


Who Died?

by via_ostiense



Category: Rent - Larson
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-02-03
Updated: 2006-02-03
Packaged: 2017-10-15 17:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/163196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/via_ostiense/pseuds/via_ostiense
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This Akita - Evita - just won't shut up / I believe if you play non-stop that pup / Will breathe its very last high-strung breath / I'm certain that cur will bark itself to death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who Died?

Benny opened the door and called, "I'm ho-" and choked. Then he blinked, trying to adjust his vision from the dimly lit hallway outside and the even more dimly lit front parlour inside. "What the hell?" he muttered. He set down his briefcase and tried to figure out what was going on.

Fact: this morning, when he went to work, his very nice twenty-five hundred square foot apartment had been decorated in an aggressively modern and pleasantly minimalist scheme.

Fact: the front parlour was now draped in black, the paper blinds were black curtains, and all the lights had been dimmed.

Fact: this morning, when he went to work, he'd been suffering from a slight cough, but he'd been able to breathe clearly.

Fact: he could barely inhale without choking on the thick, spicy smoke filling the front parlour. It reminded him of going to Mass with his uncle when he was little. He'd hoped that if God had enough money to decorate all of St. Patrick's, He'd have something to spare for Benny, too.

As he walked through the flat, Benny poked his head into various rooms, and yep, they were all covered in black and full of incense, too. In the formal dining hall, he found the answer.

"Benjamin!"

Benny barely had time to notice that Alison was dressed in black from head to toe before she threw herself at him. "Whoa, whoa there," he said, rubbing his hands up and down her back. "You alright, baby?" She was trembling and he could feel tears slipping down his neck and soaking his collar. He made shushing noises and tried to figure out what was going on. Also, how his apartment had gone Victorian funeral on him in less than eight hours.

"It's, it's." Alison was hiccupping so badly that she could barely talk. She peeled herself off of him just enough to point behind her, then went back to clutching him.

"Alright, baby, it's going to be okay," Benny said. He couldn't see what she'd been pointing at, but figured that getting her away from the scene of the distress would be a good idea. "C'mon, let's go sit down."

"No!" Alison pulled back and stared at him reproachfully. Her mascara had run, she had raccoon eyes, and her nose was red and her face was blotchy. It was a familiar look, even though he'd never seen it on her face, and he had to think very sternly,  _Down, boy_. Alison was a society girl from the highest tier of society, and sex was probably not the answer to whatever was wrong right now. Still, he had certain reactions to certain situations, and he'd been a down-on-his-luck bum for longer than he'd been a member of the prominent Westport Grays, so he had a few years of learned behaviors to stifle right now. With Mimi, sex had made everything better, at least in the short run.

"We can't leave her," Alison whimpered. Her eyes were swollen and wet, and Benny thought,  _Now is not the time_  at his dick.

Benny gave up and said, "Who?" He knew it'd get him into a load of trouble, since Alison had obviously already pointed out the problem to him and he was supposed to be able to read her mind anyway - women were impossible, whether they were whores or princesses - but he had to change his clothes, leave, and hopefully pull the plug on a riot.

Alison's eyes narrowed and Benny knew he'd be sleeping on the couch for the rest of the week.  _Well, at least it's a $4,183 Italian leather couch_ , he thought.

"Benjamin! I can't believe you're being so unfeeling!" Alison pulled the handkerchief out of his breast pocket and blew her nose. "It's, it's  _Evita_!" She pointed at the dining table again, and this time Benny went up to the table and he saw that the crystal and the flower arrangements had been replaced with black table runners and an open casket. Sure enough, inside was Evita, dead as a doornail. Inwardly, he rejoiced. Externally, he wasn't so stupid.

"Aw, Alison, I'm sorry." Benny pulled her close. "I know how much she meant to you."

Alison sniffled. "It's just, it was so sudden, and I miss our baby!"

"I miss her, too," Benny said, making sympathetic, broken-hearted noises while dancing for joy inside. Yes! No more yapping, hairy, smelly dog!

"We'll get another one, right?" Alison looked up at him and said, "I know that no one can replace Evita in our hearts, but I don't think I can bear to be alone." She sniffled sadly and said, "Since you're gone all the time."

Benny froze. Well, damn. But he looked at Alison, saw her big eyes and mussed makeup and the bruised skin under her eyes, and there wasn't anything he could deny to that face. "After a week, maybe we can go to the same breeders that we got her from. I think we should take some time to grieve first, though, baby."

"Okay." Alison kissed him softly, chastely. "Thank you, Benjamin."


End file.
